GETTING TO KNOW…..Cole SPROUT

5/14/2019

Cole Sprout is arguably the greatest scholastic boy distance runner to hail from Colorado. And he is only a junior; at Valor Christian High in Highlands Ranch.

Already the greatest? That is a very bold statement considering the incredible talent that Colorado has produced in distance running. If you put Sprout at #1 it means below him fall names like Goucher, Vaughn, Williams, Schoolmeester, Geberkidane, Deak, Winter, Roberts, and Hume.

Here are the numbers that might help solidify the "greatest" accolade:

1600m4:11.13(#2 all-time run in Colorado)

1 mile 4:06.68(#2 all-time / #1 all-time indoors)

3000m 8:13.85(#1 all time / U.S. sophomore class record)

3200m 8:40.73(#1 all-time - 8 seconds faster than #2)

3200m8:57.15(#1 all-time run in Colorado)

Colorado State titles: 4(2 in XC and 2 in Track)

Colorado State runner-ups: 3(XC - 1, Track - 2 / all 3 freshman year)

NXN Championships: 3rd(2018), 21st(2017)

MileSplit currently ranks Sprout as the #3 high school boy track & field athlete in the U.S. across all events.

He got his start in the sport just four short years ago as a seventh grader when he went out for track "mostly for fun." That was the spring of 2015 and he clocked 5:36 for 1600m. He liked it so much he went out for cross country as an eighth grader and the accolades started to roll in immediaty; including a third place finish at the Colorado Middle School Championships and a sixth place finish at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships held in Albuquerque.

A year later as a freshman he finished second at the Colorado state 3A championships in cross country and in the 1600m and 3200m in track.

His sophomore year was highlighted by three Colorado state titles, a national sophomore class record in the 3000m (8:13.85), and running under 8:50 in the 3200m.

And then this year he has dropped jaw dropping times of 4:06.68 in the 1 mile at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York and then 8:40.73 for 3200m at the Arcadia Invitational. On April 20 at the Dakota Ridge Invitational he ran 8:57.15 to became the first Colorado schoolboy to run under 9 minutes for 3200m in Colorado.

He has lofty goals for the remainder of his high school career and a big decision as too where he will go to further his academic and athletic talents. And yes he is not only talented on the track. Academically he carries a 4.1 GPA while taking a course load that includes many Advanced Placement classes. To see what these goals are and to learn which colleges are on his preliminary list let's GET TO KNOW......Cole Sprout.

How did you start running?
I started running track in 7th grade mostly for fun and really liked it so I decided to run cross country and track 8th grade year. That’s really when I fell in love with the sport and community and I’ve been doing it ever since.

You have been very successful in your first three years of high school, what would you consider the two most memorable highlights so far?

I’ve definitely had a lot of memorable highlights, but the two that stand out to me are:

1. Setting the 3000m sophomore class national record/team win at The Oregon Relays. Record aside, it was just an unforgettable experience getting to run at Hayward Field and then wining the meet as a team.

2. Breaking the Colorado State Meet record. It was truly just a special moment considering the number of incredible athletes that have come before me and the fact that it was on home turf.